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US 7,493,803 B2Granted
Ball penetrometer for soft soils testing
AssigneeBenthic Geotech Pty Ltd
InventorsPatrick J. Kelleher, Stephen David Payor, James Austin Shiels
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AssigneeBenthic Geotech Pty Ltd
InventorsPatrick J. Kelleher, Stephen David Payor, James Austin Shiels
Estimating the term…
A ball penetrometer probe for in situ measurement of soft soil properties, particularly in the seabed, comprises a spherical body and slender shaft assembly, and either individually or in combination, an anti-friction sleeve enclosing the shaft and/or a peripheral porous ring on the spherical body with connecting internal passages through the shaft assembly, the shaft being adapted to attach to an electronic transducer module. The ball penetrometer is deployed to penetrate the soil bed, to continuously measure the soil bearing forces resisting penetration and withdrawal of the ball, to optionally measure the pore water pressure of the soil in contact with the ball and to transmit the measurement data from the probe to a remote operating station, either by wireless means such as an acoustic transducer or via a wired electrical connection.
A ball penetrometer for in situ measurement of soft soil properties, including:
A ball penetrometer for in situ measurement of soft soil properties, including:
A penetrometer for in situ measurement of soft soil properties, including:
A penetrometer for in situ measurement of soft soil properties, including:
A method of in situ measurement of soft soil properties using a ball penetrometer, the ball penetrometer including a spherical body attached to an end of a shaft, the shaft being of substantially smaller diameter than the diameter of the spherical body and being adapted to associate with a module containing an axial force measuring sensor and data transmitter, and a sleeve member enclosing the shaft, the sleeve member being of substantially smaller diameter than the diameter of the spherical body and adapted to isolate the shaft from external soil friction while allowing axial movement of the spherical body and the shaft, the method including the steps of:
A method of in situ measurement of soft soil properties using a ball penetrometer, the ball penetrometer including a spherical body attached to an end of a shaft, the shaft being of substantially smaller diameter than the diameter of the spherical body and being adapted to associate with a module containing an axial force measuring sensor and data transmitter, and at least part of the surface of the spherical body provided with or formed of a porous material, the spherical body also including at least one passage providing for fluid communication between the porous material and a pressure sensor, the at least one passage containing an internal fluid held within the spherical body at least partially by the porous material, the method including the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.